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Lord Huron’s ‘Vide Noir’ is a cosmic masterpiece

Lord Huron, best known for the song The Night We Met (featured in Netflixâ€™s hit show, 13 Reasons Why), released a new album on April 20, 2018. The indie band enters the â€śblack voidâ€ť in their new album Vide Noir. Vide Noir is French for â€śblack void,â€ť which emphasizes the dark themes of the album. Their original style of indie/folk is now mixed with alternative aspects such as distortions, creating an immersive, out-of-this-world experience.

The album starts with soft and alluring vocals in Lost in Space. Although the song seems light-hearted and soothing, the lyrics go beyond that. The song describes the heartbreak of a girl leaving the main character without her, and the separation of another so central to his world leaves him feeling “Lost in space”. The background music is cheerful, with its beach like sounds, in comparison to the depressing meaning. The first song introduces the idea of the black void, a place of release of the past.

With every song, the beat fluctuates. One of my favorite songs, Ancient Names (Part 1), starts off eerie, but then becomes jubilant. Lord Huron decides to focus on the more alternative aspects of the song, using an upbeat tempo and a variety of cosmic sounds. The repetition used on the lyrics like â€śI gotta get away from here/I gotta get away from herâ€ť give a sense of panic and urgency. The song drastically slows down towards the end as the vocals become muffled, like the song itself is getting lost in the void.

â€śVide Noirâ€ť creates an atmosphere of confusion that the bandâ€™s previous albums did not utilize. Each song is unique in the elements making it easy to get consumed in the complexity of the music. Using different instruments and a synthesis of sounds, Lord Huron creates a variety of music throughout the album. With so many distinct sounds, it can be distracting to work as background music while you do homework, but it would be perfect to listen to while doing other activities. For me, the album as a whole recreates a world where a new meaning of emptiness and confusion to the word void is formed.

Written by Ambareen Masood, Staff writer Photo courtesy of pinterest.com